9 Ways to Fall in Love

by Caroline Clemmons

  "My buddy here, Gabe Hardison, is between jobs and I heard you might be looking for two pilots."

  Riordon gave Gabe a once over, like he might have just noticed him sitting in the corner, and said, "Bring him with you tomorrow and I'll see what I can do."

  "Thanks." Graeme nearly gagged as the word passed his lips. He still wanted to punch the cocky bastard, but he knew that would shut them down before they got started. Breathing deeply, he watched Riordon walk back to the bar where the man declined another drink and spoke to two men hunched over the edge of the counter. Both directed their attention to Riordon, then pushed their bottles toward the back of the bar top.

  Graeme tried to read Riordon's lips. "You . . . done . . . this. (Someone or something) be pissed." Then, "Don't fuck . . . up." The two men left as Riordon's thumb gestured toward the exit.

  He couldn't tell anything specific about the conversation, but gathered enough to know those two had fallen out of favor over something. As they high-tailed it out the door, Graeme thought he recognized at least one, if not both men. He pushed his chair back to leave when Maggie shoved past other patrons to reach where he sat with Gabe and Elliott. He stood as she approached.

  "What's the matter with you?" she hissed through clenched teeth. "If you didn't want to tell me everything, why tell me anything? Can you not trust me?"

  Graeme caught her balled fist just before she hit his arm. "What're you talking about? What's got you so riled up?"

  "I'm talking about you keeping stuff from me."

  He looked around and saw they were drawing attention from several onlookers. Swiveling her around and into a chair with her back to the room, he sat beside her. "What stuff, Maggie?"

  "Important stuff like Wyatt, the plane, the truck crash, and letters." Her chin quivered and tears threatened to spill as Dinah rushed over to the table. She placed her arm around Maggie's shoulders.

  "What's going on?" Graeme asked her.

  "We saw the board in the room over the barn."

  Graeme's stomach nose-dived. He hadn't intended on Maggie finding out this way. He'd planned on telling her himself when they'd nailed the investigation or at the very least gotten much closer.

  Gabe and Elliott stood. "We'll be at the bar," Elliott said. "Dinah, will you join us for a few minutes?"

  When they'd left, he looked at the hurt and sadness staring back at him. He would've given anything to have the last few days back to maybe re-do a few things. "Maggie, I never meant to keep anything from you. At least not long term."

  She made a scoffing sound and tried to leave, but he held firmly on to her hands.

  "I know how important it is for you to have your life back in order. How you want to clear Wyatt's reputation for Andy." He tightened his grip to keep her from bolting like a frightened colt. "I'm working hard—we're working hard to find out what's happening to you and the family."

  "That's so much bull crap. I've trusted you for the last week, but you haven't extended the same courtesy."

  "What?"

  "You could've trusted me to handle what you know thus far, but you treat me like I'm Andy's age. How can I believe you now?"

  "You have to, honey. I'll figure this out for you, Andy, everyone. Trust me."

  "You know," she said with a decisiveness he didn't want to hear. "That calf's out of the gate." Slowly, she extricated her hands from his grasp. "I'm going home. I have to sleep and try to make some sense out of whatever this is." She stood and pushed the chair to the table. "Please don't call or come by the house for a while."

  Graeme watched her walk away. He'd never felt more out of sorts, out of control or alone than he did right this moment. He'd blown it with her even though all he'd wanted to do was protect her. Well, by God, that's what he'd continue to do. She might not like it, but he'd figure everything out and hand her back her life, safe and sound for herself and her son. And, if he was lucky, just maybe she'd share it with him.

  * * *

  Maggie rode with Dinah in the VW Beetle back to her house. They traveled in silence until Di stopped the car in the driveway. Maggie stared out the windshield, but didn't really see anything but a huge blur in front of her where the house should be.

  Dinah spoke first. "Have you figured it all out, yet?"

  "All of what?"

  "This mess you're in the middle of."

  "No."

  "Well, in my opinion, you were pretty tough on Graeme tonight."

  "What am I supposed to do or believe? You saw what was written on the board."

  "I did, but he's told you they're still investigating. What if there isn't enough to explain yet? What if he wants to be sure before he tells you?"

  "Uggghhh, stop being logical. Maybe I don't want to let him off so easy."

  "What's going on with you, Mags? I've never known you to play games."

  "Do you really want to know?"

  "Of course I do." Dinah moved to sit sideways in the car seat facing her friend.

  Maggie laced and unlaced her fingers, eventually gripping them together into one tight fist, then said, "Remember I told you a long time ago I was through with married life? I would never fall in love again?"

  "Yes, I remember."

  "I think I'm starting to care a little too much about Graeme. That's the first step toward love, isn't it?" Her fingers were numb from holding them tightly and she shook her hands to start the circulation. "Di, I can't fall again. The hurt's too great when it's over."

  "Oh, sweetie, I think you're already head-over-heels. Otherwise, you'd be able to move on."

  Maggie looked at Dinah for a few seconds before a tear rolled down her cheek. She swiped at it, then turned to stare back out the window. She had tried to ignore him and all he'd come to mean to her. Obviously, she'd failed and Di had hit the nail on the head with her statement. With a deep breath, she closed her eyes on more tears and cursed her heart in a whisper, "Damn it all to hell."

  * * *

  Graeme downed two fingers of bourbon and set the glass down on the poolside table. He pulled off his boots, dropped his wallet and watch inside, and shucked the rest of his clothes onto the deck by one of the chairs. Holding his breath, he dived head-first into the deep end of the Olympic-sized pool.

  His powerful strokes pulled him forcefully through the water from one end to the other. Finally, exhausted after the completion of the fourth lap, he rolled onto his back to catch his breath and think.

  Where had he gone wrong with Maggie? Okay, he admitted he should've told her more of what was happening as soon as he knew it. He'd intended on keeping her up to speed but, whether she meant to or not, she seemed vulnerable and he'd wanted to protect her. That'd been his sole intention . . . in the beginning. The more he responded to her, the more he'd wanted her. Then, when she'd kissed him on the porch and taken him to her bed, he lost all sense of right or wrong or thoughts of honor among brothers.

  He should take Maggie's lead and stay away from her. Yes sir, that's exactly what he should do. Just stay the hell away from her. Talk about an exercise in futility. Even now, his mind refused his order and his body betrayed him at the mere thought of her. The cool water and night air had no effect on dousing the fire she built in him. With difficulty, he dove to the bottom of the deep end and made a slow assent to the surface then swam to the side.

  Pulling himself out of the water, he found his jeans and dragged them up his wet legs. Gabe sat at the table where he'd left his boots, a lighted cigarette anchored between his lips, a bottle of tequila and two glasses at the ready.

  "She's sure got your gut all twisted up." Gabe uncapped the bottle and poured two shots.

  "Who?" Graeme accepted the glass and downed the liquid.

  Gabe grinned, ground out the cigarette with his boot heel and drank his own shot. "The one that has you trying out for the U.S. swim team."

  "You think I'll make the team?"

  "Hell no, you're too old." Gabe laughed and refilled their glasses. Losing the grin, he turned s
olemn. "Tonight, I got the impression the lady thinks you're holding out on her."

  "Yeah, and she's not wrong." He ran his fingers through his hair, excess water sluiced down his bare back. "The timing never seems right."

  "My advice?" Gabe sipped at his tequila. "Better late than too late."

  "What if it's already too late?"

  "Do you feel that way about a mission?"

  "Hell no, I figure out what's going to work and get it done."

  "Do right by your brother, man." Tipping back his glass, Gabe finished off the shot. Placing it upside down next to the bottle, he picked up Graeme's glass, downed the liquor, then sat it in like fashion on the opposite side of the table. Tapping the bottom, he said, "Wyatt's given you the map. What do you do next?"

  "Have the objective in sight, formulate a plan, then implement the plan to achieve the target."

  "In this case, there're two goals." He tapped the bottom of the second glass. "Primary goal?"

  Graeme knew where Gabe was headed with his rough diagram. He answered just as simply. "Determine and eliminate the bad guys."

  Gabe wrapped his hand around the neck of the bottle. "And the ultimate?"

  "Maggie."

  "You gotta make it right with her."

  And there it was, the ultimate goal. Tell her everything he knew whether she believed him or not. Regardless of whether he lost her or not. I am, above all else, an honorable man. I will figure out how to tell Maggie the truth and make her and Andy my future.

  Chapter 18

  A few hours later, Graeme woke to a stream of early morning sunlight blasting through the bedroom window. Muffled curses and a thud told him Gabe had started to move around in the next room. Wearing his jeans from the night before, as well as the perpetual hard-on he carried for Maggie, he went into the hall and tapped on the door to Gabe's room.

  "Yeah?"

  "It's me."

  "C'mon in."

  Graeme entered a room that looked as if a bomb had exploded. Drawers hung open with random pieces of clothing hanging half in-half out. The duffel bag sat in the middle of the floor, its zippered mouth open, spewing socks and underwear as if it had vomited its contents. Gabe stood in the next room, hands braced on his knees, angled over the toilet bowl.

  Under the edge of the bed, a silver object lay partially hidden by the bed covers. Graeme picked it up and passed it through the doorway tapping it against Gabe's forearm. "Looking for this?"

  Eyelids closed, Gabe growled, "What's that?"

  "The hair-of-the-dog you were looking for."

  Taking the flask, Gabe opened the cap and drank until the container was empty. "Thanks."

  Graeme waited in the chair Bridey had placed in the guest room's sitting area until Gabe's self-proclaimed remedy began to work. He didn't know exactly the reasons Gabe chose to drink himself into a stupor most nights. The one thing he knew for fact, Gabe never drank on a mission and you could trust him with your life – literally.

  After a few minutes, Gabe came into the room, freshly showered, a towel around his waist.

  "You smell better," Graeme acknowledged. "But you still look a little worse for wear."

  "Try looking at things from this side." Gabe coughed like the smoker he was and placed an unlit cigarette between his lips. He raised his hand at Graeme's protest. "Not lighting up."

  "Those things are going to kill you."

  "So might women and bullets, but I'm not backing away from them either." He grinned and placed the cigarette behind his ear. "S'there time for something to eat before we go?"

  "There is. I'll meet you downstairs."

  * * *

  Just before noon, after their appointment with HR, Graeme and Gabe met Riordon in the lobby at Southern Star. Together they rode the elevator to the fifth floor and Widmore's office. Graeme and Gabe took a seat in the reception area while Riordon spoke briefly to the secretary.

  "Nelson will see you shortly," he told them, then went in to see Widmore alone.

  While Gabe blatantly flirted with the secretary, Graeme entertained thoughts of how he'd bring Maggie up to speed on everything that had happened in the last week and a half. Including the part about him taking a job at Southern Star. The survival of their relationship depended on her acceptance of the facts. He missed her and wanted her back. He needed her to believe in him again.

  He looked up as the door to the inner office opened. Riordon walked out ahead of Widmore and Maggie. What the hell? Standing, he greeted her, unable to hide his shock and surprise at seeing her. "What're you doing here?"

  Before she could answer, Widmore spoke, "This seems to be a day for family."

  "Oh, yeah? How so?"

  "Andrew came by this morning, then this pretty thing shows up." He hugged her close to his side. "Now, Trevor tells me you've joined our family here at the airlines."

  "I'm surprised, too." Maggie pinned him with a stare and extricated herself from Widmore's hold. Pulling a key fob from her shoulder bag, she headed for the door. "Thanks, Nelson, I appreciate your honesty. Graeme, will I see you later?"

  "Yes." He tried to read her mood or facial expression, but she showed him nothing.

  "Good, I'll catch up with you then."

  He watched her leave wishing he could follow her, and turned back to Widmore. "Riordon said you like to talk with new hires."

  "I do, come on in."

  "Hey." Graeme motioned for Gabe to join them, but Nelson stopped him.

  "Not right now."

  Gabe acknowledged the slight by the older man, but kept his hip anchored to the corner of the desk, the chesty blond secretary the center of his focus.

  "Graeme, I'm sorry to hear of your recent troubles." Widmore sat in his chair behind the carved mahogany desk. "I want you to understand being hired on here in no way means you're strictly an employee. You're family and, as such, feel free to let me know how I can help you."

  "I appreciate that, Nelson. You've been a good friend to the Bennings through the years, and by extension, to me." He choked out the words. Considering the discoveries they'd made in the past week and Widmore's possible involvement, he found it difficult to be in the same zip code much less the same room.

  Widmore continued, "I'm assuming with the amount of your debt, you'll want to start as soon as you can."

  "Yes, though I understand if it's not possible."

  "We're in the process of instituting several new routes that will significantly boost revenue for Southern Star. I'd like you and Hardison to initiate those flights."

  "What's your time-frame?"

  "Soon, I'd say in a day or so. I'll call you."

  "We'll be ready." He reached across the desk to shake hands, then left the office, grabbing Gabe on the way out.

  * * *

  Maggie leaned against the tail gate of the Ford F-250 pick-up bearing the logo for Ben McTiernan Ranch, as Graeme and the man, Hardison, Ben had told her about approached. She couldn't tell anything about his mood except the closer he came the faster he walked.

  "What're you doing out here, it's hotter'n blue blazes."

  "Waiting for you."

  His demeanor softened immediately."Are we okay?"

  "Yes, I think so." She took his hand in hers, ran her thumb over his knuckles and looked up into a most confused and vulnerable face. Even though she didn't have everything straight in her own mind, she tried to reassure him somehow. "I don't want to be mad or sad anymore. I want to be finished with whatever's happening to us."

  He tossed his keys to his companion. "Get in and start the truck and the a/c, will you? Give us a minute?" The man saluted then disappeared into the cab. Graeme turned back to her. "What were you doing in Widmore's office?"

  "Nelson had asked me to stop by a few weeks ago, said he had something to tell me. When he called this morning, I decided to get it over with."

  "And?"

  "He said in light of the NTSB final report, Southern Star wouldn't be able to continue paying benefits to me and And
y. In fact, the board might require me to pay everything back." She saw his body tense with anger and she hastened to calm him down. "I anticipated this might happen so I have the money in savings. It's not a problem."

  "Yes, it sure the hell is, but you know Andrew will make it right."

  "I'll figure out how to take care of us, eventually. Mind telling me what Nelson meant when he said you'd joined the family?" She thought he squirmed a fraction at her question. Well, good. Time for a little truth and honesty.

  "We needed someone on the inside, and I'm the most logical."

  "Why is it men always feel they have to do the right thing, no matter how stupid it is?" She doubled her fist and punched at his stomach. "And why do I have to fall for them?"

  "Is that what this is? You're falling for me, ma'am?"

  "Oh, shut-up, don't make me punch you again." She half-grinned. "Seriously, is that the only plan you could come up with?"

  "No, but it's the best." He pulled her close. "Trust me, babe, we're going to figure it all out."

  She pushed away from him, even though it was exactly opposite of what she wanted to do. "And we're back to square one." He looked confused again or maybe frustrated. "I have to get to the ranch."

  Heading off to the borrowed SUV parked nearby, she remembered her reason for waiting in the broiling sun. "Oh, Graeme, I thought of what I wanted to tell you the other night."

  "Yeah, what's that?"

  "Those two men y'all were discussing, the blond and the Hispanic? Not only are they familiar because they work at the ranch, but I saw them with Wyatt a few times." He didn't respond verbally, but something akin to anger flickered in his eyes. She waited a heartbeat and when he didn't say anything, she opened the door to climb inside. Turning back, she waved and said, "See you later?"

  He gave a nod and waved back. "Count on it."

  * * *

  Graeme nosed the truck up to the barn and parked. He and Gabe went on the hunt for Junebug. They found him inside repairing a stall.

  "Well, well, sleeping beauty, just get up?"

  "No." He hated that his response sounded defensive, but he always felt it necessary to explain himself and his actions to the older man. One day he'd like to be regarded as more than a clueless teenager. Moving on, he introduced Gabe and said, "We need to ask you something, do you have a minute?"